While the Orion constellation is named after the hunter in Greek mythology, it is anything but stealthy. Orion, which is located on the celestial equator, is one of the most prominent and recognizable constellations in the sky and can be seen throughout the world. Orion is the brightest and most beautiful of the winter constellations. […]
After more than a year of preparations for liftoff, NASA will launch the first of four brand-new weather satellites next week after a four-day delay due to a battery glitch. The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) will launch no earlier than Nov. 14 from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II […]
The two small, inset images show actual observations of the most ancient spiral galaxy ever observed. The rest of the image is an artist’s illustration showing how a massive galaxy cluster bends and magnifies the light from the distant galaxy, making it visible to astronomers on Earth. Astronomers have uncovered an ancient cosmic artifact 11 […]
Artist’s illustration of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flying by the distant object 2014 MU69 on Jan. 1, 2019. Early observations hint at the Kuiper Belt object being either a binary orbiting pair or a contact (stuck-together) pair of nearly like-sized bodies with diameters near 12 and 11 miles (20 and 18 kilometers). You have the […]
Artist’s conception of a black hole with an accretion disk, and jets of hot plasma. New observations of black holes have revealed an “acceleration zone” that ejects jets of material from around the singularity. Astronomers say that in this zone, the hot gas inside the jet becomes energized enough to strongly radiate light, creating two […]
While November is generally a cold time to do astronomy, it’s still worth going outside. This month, skywatchers will be treated to three meteor showers, and the best part is you need no equipment to see the displays, except something warm to wear. Here are the three showers to look for in the Northern Hemisphere. […]
Rugged Martian terrain captured by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA’s Curiosity rover. The purplish tint represents the iron-oxide mineral hematite. NASA’s Curiosity rover is putting its color-discerning capabilities to full use as it treads up a steep Martian ridge on lower Mount Sharp. Curiosity began climbing Vera Rubin Ridge in early September and is […]
The space shuttle Endeavour glides back to Earth on Jan. 20, 1996, after nine days in space on the STS-72 mission. The orbiter is about to touch down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Only a select few have experienced spaceflight first-hand, but a […]
Burton Snowboards drew inspiration from NASA spacesuits for its uniforms for the 2018 U.S. Olympic snowboard team. When the U.S. Olympic snowboard team takes to the snow in PyeongChang, South Korea, in February, they will be sporting uniforms appropriate for the “giant leaps” they are expected to perform. Burton Snowboards on Thursday (Nov. 2) revealed […]
Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), human security officer Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) and the Kelpien alien Saru (Doug Jones) beam down to the planet Pahvo in “Star Trek: Discovery” Episode 8, called “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.” Warning: This recap includes spoilers for Episode 8 of “Star Trek: Discovery .” We haven’t seen enough of the […]
NASA astronaut and space station crewmember Peggy Whitson speaks with a representative of the Guinness Book of World Records on July 26, 2017. Astronaut Peggy Whitson has spent more time in space than any other American, and that is only one of the records she holds. Still active with NASA, she hopes to spend even […]
New research used the dimming caused by planets passing in front of their stars to work out the stars’ densities. Distant planets tell all: A new analysis uses alien worlds’ orbital treks to peek inside their stars. NASA’s ever-watchful Kepler space telescope has identified thousands of exoplanets by noting the tiny brightness dips caused when […]
A coal-fired power plant. Humans are to blame. That’s the verdict of an executive-branch government report concluding that Homo sapiens are the dominant cause of planetary warming since the mid-20th century. The climate report, released today (Nov. 3), paints a dire picture of the present and future effects of global climate change , from sea […]